The number of diesel powered vehicles registered in Australia has increased by more than double that of petrol powered vehicles in 2016, according to new figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The annual snapshot of all vehicles registered for use on Australian roads shows that the total number of vehicles fuelled by diesel increased by 293,217, in comparison to 114,337 petrol powered vehicles added to the Motor Vehicle Register since 2015.

The increase in registrations of diesel fuelled vehicles was driven by passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, which together accounted for 95 per cent of the overall increase from 2015 to 2016.

Since 2011, the number of registered diesel fuelled vehicles in Australia has increased by close to 60 per cent.

"The 2016 Motor Vehicle Census tells us there are over 18 million registered motor vehicles in Australia in 2016, which is an increase of 2.1 per cent since last year. This includes over 16 million cars and light commercial vehicles,” said Amanda Clark, ABS Director of Transport and Tourism.

The 2016 Motor Vehicle Census details the number of registered motor vehicles in Australia and provides information such as vehicle type, vehicle characteristics including the year of manufacture, and type of fuel used.